Sean Ng
, who owns 80 per cent of the private company, says Australia is professional and legally accountable, which gives confidence to new developers.

Ng has brought the Mammoth brand to Melbourne and says he is committed to developing more high-rise inner-city projects because of the city’s liveability.

In his home city, Kuala Lumpur, his projects range from $100 million to $1 billion.

Mammoth recently struck a $15 million deal for an Elizabeth Street site in Melbourne’s CBD for another high-rise apartment tower. The site is next to its MY80 Silver Skies project, a $250 million 55-storey tower that will be finished by early 2015.

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While Ng has never sought the limelight, he has spent the past three years learning how Australians do business, and says learning to fit into the Melbourne development world has given him an advantage over many other Asian developers.

He secured the MY80 site, which Mammoth bought in the days after the tender closed, by offering to sign immediately on the dotted line.

The next day, Mammoth owned the site with a permit attached, bought from Melbourne-based developers Hamton.

Hamton’s joint managing director, Steve Buxton, introduced Mammoth to
Andrew Fortey
of
PDS Group
, who is now managing and delivering MY80 Silver Skies. Fortey negotiated the purchase of the opposite site on Mammoth’s behalf.

Asian developers have made headlines for their large-scale investments and developments in recent years, taking advantage of the favourable investment conditions here.

While much has been made of the benefits this brings to a city’s economy and development market, there have been some questions about where this leaves Australian developers that struggle to secure finance owing to the impact of multiple towers put to market at the same time and of the long-term changes to Melbourne’s skyline.

But Ng and Mammoth’s managing director,
Joseph Ooi
, dismiss any negativity and agreed the Melbourne business community had been welcoming and open.

“They welcome good investment and we find they’re very eager and responsive," Ooi says. “Everything can be done very quickly here and the government is pro-business."

Mammoth Empire Holdings is both a developer and investor, focusing on mixed-use projects incorporating apartments, office space, retail and hotels. Ng wants to expand his presence in Melbourne through “destination" projects in the CBD, which offer retail to draw customers.

While some apartments are offered as pre-sales, many are withheld, along with office space, for investment.

Ng said he regards retail development as a “fun hobby" and sees opportunities to shift Melbourne’s shopping landscape. While Melbourne is known for its shopping, he says the same formulas have been here for decades and it is high time consumers are offered a different experience.

Ooi says the pair has travelled around Europe and the US looking for locations, and found Melbourne offered much to capitalise on.

He said a city’s “software" was just as important as its “hardware" in development – the character of the city, its soul, the essence that makes it a place where people want to be, which can take years to create.

“Whatever we build is just a small part of the city," he said. “The environment, amenities, government, parks, are all very important," he says. “It took 200 years for Melbourne to become what it is today and we want to be a part of how it changes."

Ng says he is actively seeking more Melbourne sites. In the coming years, the company hopes to expand its presence here, with more Mammoth cranes in the sky.